If you’ve been keeping up with our previous On the Bank blogs, you will have read that our last visit to Thornhills Fishery didn’t go well. We caught some fish, but it wasn’t as prolific as it had been in the past. Yesterday, Brian and I decided to return to try and put things right. Unfortunately, the day didn’t turn out as we’d hoped.
If you missed our previous blog about Thornhills Fishery and want additional info about the water, you can read the Thornhills Fishery overview. The overview includes details of depths, the features of the lake, and most importantly the type of fish to be caught.
Since our last visit, just under four weeks ago, Thornhills has seen some changes. The most obvious change can be found on the side of the lake with the sunken islands. Previously, the far bank had several trees with overhanging branches. These branches made it difficult to cast a feeder or float tight against the bank. In recent weeks, all those trees have been cut back, making the lake seem more open and larger.
How the Day Went
We decided to set off a bit later than we normally would as I’d only just arrived back from a week away in Spain on Friday afternoon. We left at 8 am, and after the usual McDonald’s breakfast and a trip to Morrisons for some drinks, we arrived at Thornhills at around 9 am. There was only one person fishing when we arrived, but he was right in the area where we wanted to fish, so we had to have a look around at some alternative pegs. With the number of branches cut down on that side of the lake and the possibility of snags, we decided to fish on the opposite side of the horseshoe near the large natural island.
I fished one peg to the right of where I fished on our last visit. It’s a peg I’ve fished previously and had success on. My approach for the day was quite simple. I planned to start on the method feeder and fish close to the island during the morning. In the afternoon I would switch to the pole and set up three lines. One at around 11m close to the island, the second using the top two plus two, and the third down the edge to my left under an overhanging tree.
The bait for the day was a mixture of Sonubaits wafters and hookable pellets, 2mm soaked pellets, 6mm hard pellets to feed over the top, and corn.
Brian decided to fish the peg to my right, which was also a peg he’d fished previously. His approach was even simpler than mine. He’s had success and a lot of fun fishing with a waggler on Thornhills previously, so that was his plan for the day. After plumbing up, he found that he had a similar depth across to the island as he did down both margins, so he set up his waggler at around two to two-and-a-half feet.
His bait for the day was some diced meat and corn for the hook and 2mm orange Teddy Fisher pellets as loose feed over the top of his float.
While I was still setting up, Brian started fishing tight to the island using a cube of meat on his hook. On his first two casts, he had quick indications. They didn’t result in a fish, but it was a promising sign that the carp would be feeding again after a slow day earlier in the month.
I quickly finished getting my method feeder ready. I wasn’t expecting to get many bites at first, but I was eager to get going. Thornhills has always seemed to start quite slow for me and then improve as the day progresses. Unfortunately, slow isn’t the word. After the two bites that Brian had, that was the only action we saw all morning. No missed bites, no liners, nothing. We messed around with the selection of baits we had with us, smaller hooks, fishing at different spots and depths and not a sign.
At around 12:15, I decided to switch to the pole and get as close to the island as possible. After checking with Brian what depth he had over there, I put a rig on and plumbed the depth. Strangely, I had around three-and-a-half feet in most places. There were also a few areas with deeper holes full of snags that I needed to avoid.
After 45 minutes of fishing with corn and soft hookable pellets towards the island, I decided to give my edge a go. Many anglers that fish Thornhills regularly will fish the margins all day. After loose feeding three to four pellets and pieces of corn throughout the morning, I went in hoping for my first bite.
I put a piece of corn on the hook and used a cad pot to put in a small ball of 2mm pellets and some corn over the top. Within a few minutes, I was getting a lot of small indications. Brian asked if I was getting any touches. “Only small bits I think” I replied. Within 30 seconds my float went under and as I lifted the top kit to strike, I could see my elastic pulling towards the island. “Maybe not so small”, I shouted to Brian.
I quickly started to put on another couple of sections when the fish turned and swam back towards me. I had it at my feet for a while and then it darted off under the tree to my left and snagged me up. Thankfully, I managed to get it out and then it went to my right towards where Brian was fishing. After a brief pause where I considered putting sections on again, the elastic pinged back towards me and I’d lost half my rig. After four hours of fishing for my first bite, I messed it up. If I had put more sections on earlier, I would have managed to control the run and land the fish, but I mistakenly thought I could control it using just my top kit.
Sadly, that was the last action we saw for another two hours. It was quite soul-destroying sitting there with nothing happening for either of us. The water didn’t seem to be fishing well for any of the other anglers there either. The lad who was there when we arrived has packed up and left. Another bloke arrived not long after us who only fishes on Thornhills and does well whenever we see him there. He had two fish out all day from one of the more prolific pegs on there.
We were consoled by the fact that other anglers were also struggling. Maybe it was just one of them days. That was until a man and his young son began fishing a few pegs to my left. Within minutes of their arrival, the young lad was catching silvers using maggots. Then his dad started catching carp using the method feeder and casting away from the island towards open water.
At 3:15 pm, Brian got his first bite in over six hours. After moving around a few different areas in his peg, he went back toward the island with a cube of meat on the hook. His float disappeared and he had an enjoyable battle that resulted in a lovely mirror carp of around 2.5lb. Finally!
Things went quiet for us again. Brian’s bite had come out of the blue, and I hadn’t had any touches from my three pole lines. The young lad and his dad were catching regularly to my left, but nothing was happening for Brian and me. With things not looking good, I decided to go back on the method feeder while I started to pack my pole and roller away ready for home time.
A bad day got worse when Brian got snagged on a branch towards the island which snapped his line. It was 4:30 pm and with the fishing being slow all day, he didn’t want to go through the process of setting up again. He told me to continue fishing, but I was also considering calling it a day and going home with a blank. For the next 45 minutes, I slowly put my gear away and cleaned my bait tubs while continuing to put my feeder towards the island.
I’ve always been taught the last thing you should pack up is your rod, as you never know what might happen. With only a handful of micros left, I decided to have one more cast while I took my side tray off the seatbox and broke my landing net down. Brian had already taken some of his gear to the car, Manchester United had conceded a late equaliser against Burnley, Stockport County had been beaten 2-1 against Wrexham, and Stockport Town had just lost the playoff final on penalties. The day had been rubbish and I was looking forward to having a shower and getting some food.
As Brian and I were chatting and I was breaking down my landing net handle, a miracle happened. The only thing I had left to do was reel in and pack my rod away before we went home feeling defeated. Out of nowhere, the rod tip pulled around and I lifted into a fish. I spent a couple of minutes playing it while Brian put my landing net back together and after a decent little fight, I finally had a fish in the net. A small common carp that only weighed about 3lb but was very much appreciated. What a relief. It had been a disaster of a day’s fishing, but at least neither of us had blanked.
To make a bad day worse, Brian noticed that the windscreen on his car had a crack around 10 inches long towards the bottom of the passenger side. A stone hit it on the motorway earlier in the morning, but there were no signs of any damage when we checked after arriving at Thornhills. Unfortunately, we’d missed a tiny chip right in the bottom and the crack must have developed when it was sat in the sun during the day. What a rubbish end to a bad day.
What went wrong? We’re not sure. Fishing toward the islands or margins has always been a safe bet to get a bite on Thornhills. Sure, we could have brought a larger selection of hook baits, but the baits we were using have always been successful for us previously. Maybe the recent work around the lake has spooked the fish a bit. The fish could also have their minds on spawning rather than feeding.
The dad to my left had done well throughout the afternoon, and his son had also caught a few larger fish. Maybe the better stamp of fish are enjoying the new daylight created by cutting the trees around the lake and are congregating in the open water that gets most of the sun.
One thing is for sure. We’re going to give Thornhills a break for a month or so until the weather settles down. It’s defeated us so far this year, but we will be back in the future to show you exactly how good the fishing can be when it turns on.
